January 22, 2012 6:10pm ESTJanuary 22, 2012 1:31pm ESTFollowing the lead of the Phillies, several teams this offseason have tried to put together "super rotations" through trades and free agency. Which teams have succeeded — and which still have work to do?

Even though last October provided its contradictions, 2011 was the second consecutive “Year of the Pitcher” for Major League Baseball.

It gave fans the game’s first “super rotation,” a group of arms compiled through trades and free agency with an expectation of dominance. Think of it in terms of what NBA teams are doing by stockpiling superstars and you’ll quickly understand what the Philadelphia Phillies’ Big Three of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels was all about.

This offseason, other teams have followed Philadelphia’s pattern, or at least attempted to. That has led to a number of rotations with at least one legitimate ace (and sometimes more).

So, how do they stack up after all the offseason shuffling? Well, there is an elite level. There is a group just below that which has the pieces to become elite if several things fall into place. Then there are those that are not quite as promising, but on the cusp.

Close, but not quite

Washington Nationals: The talent is surely there. Headed by Stephen Strasburg, the Nationals boast a young and promising stable of arms, especially after trading for Gio Gonzalez. With Jordan Zimmermann as a third starter and John Lannan and Chien-Ming Wang rounding it out, the Nationals are good, but not great. And the rotation won’t be allowed to be great this season because the 200-inning milestone is still mostly foreign to Strasburg, Zimmermann and Lannan, and Gonzalez will have to learn to pitch outside of Oakland’s cavernous Coliseum.

Detroit Tigers: Justin Verlander is the American League’s MVP, but there are concerns after him. Doug Fister started to figure things out last season and posted a 1.79 ERA in 10 starts for Detroit after being traded from Seattle, but he must keep that up for 30-plus starts this season. After those two, things get really shaky with the inconsistent Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello and unproven rookie Jacob Turner.

FROM SPORTING NEWS:

Can be great if…

Miami Marlins: They have an ace, a horse, a top-level No. 3 starter, and a No. 5 who can make or break the group. Josh Johnson is one of the game’s best pitchers but he has health concerns and made only nine starts last year. Mark Buehrle is the horse with 11 seasons of at least 30 starts and 200 innings, and Anibal Sanchez is a no-hit alert more often than most. The wild card is Carlos Zambrano. If he can stay disciplined and consistently solid and Johnson can keep himself healthy, this rotation could become one of the best in the National League.

St. Louis Cardinals: They get Adam Wainwright back after he missed all of last season with an injury, but Jaime Garcia took a slight step back in 2011 and the chances Kyle Lohse duplicates maybe the best season of his career are slim.

Milwaukee Brewers: The starters weren’t as good as Milwaukee hoped at this time last year—they were inconsistent and lacked a true ace. Shaun Marcum and Randy Wolf have to be horses again and Chris Narveson can’t regress in the No. 5 spot if this rotation is going to carry an offense that loses Prince Fielder for good and Ryan Braun for 50 games. Oh, yeah, and Zack Greinke and Yovani Gallardo have to pitch like co-No. 1’s.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Ian Kennedy was ace-like, Daniel Hudson was impressive in his first full season and Josh Collmenter was promising in his rookie season. Regression is entirely possible, especially for Kennedy. But if he repeats his 21 wins and 2.88 ERA, Hudson and Collmenter take another step forward and newly acquired Trevor Cahill pitches like he did in 2010, the Diamondbacks will boast one of the league’s top rotations.

Atlanta Braves: The pieces are in place, but health is a major issue. Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens have to be healthy or this is just a decent group.

Tampa Bay Rays: James Shields came out of nowhere to be a real stopper, and he must repeat his 2011 or this group won’t be elite. Also, Jeremy Hellickson was superb in his rookie year, but his .224 opponents’ batting average on balls in play won’t stay that low.

FROM SI.COM:

The elite

San Francisco Giants: Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner lead the group. If Ryan Vogelsong comes close to his breakout 2011, the rotation undoubtedly will carry a weak offense into meaningful September games. Again.

Texas Rangers: They lack a proven ace, but Yu Darvish could become that. Neftali Feliz will get his first crack at starting at this level, but it worked for Alexi Ogando last year. The main concern here is how the last two fall and their extra innings affect guys like Derek Holland and Matt Harrison.

New York Yankees: A couple weeks ago the Yankees weren’t even close to this point, but a trade for Michael Pineda and signing Hiroki Kuroda give them one of the best rotations in the AL with CC Sabathia on top of them. This team filled its serious needs as well as any other in baseball this winter.

Los Angeles Angels: This rotation was already at this level before the winter meetings, but adding C.J. Wilson while at them made it truly great. The Angels be the first team since 1997 to have four pitchers throw more than 220 innings, and they arguably have three aces—Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Wilson—before even getting to Ervin Santana, who had a 2.78 ERA over his final 14 starts last year.

Philadelphia Phillies: They are still the top rotation in the game with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels—three undeniable aces—even if Roy Oswalt will pitch elsewhere next season. Vance Worley was nearly great in his rookie season, so if he touches that same production in 2012, the Phillies again have a lights-out rotation.